Beat the Band (Swim the Fly #2)(31)

I clap them both on the shoulders. “We’ve just got to give it some time, dawgs. We’ll get there. My dad promised he’d make us better. I mean, we were already sounding halfway decent by the end of our first rehearsal, right?” Halfway decent might be a bit of an exaggeration. On a scale from one to ten I’d give us a one and a half. But it’s definitely better than the negative eighteen we started out with. “Imagine what we’ll sound like after a month of rehearsals.”

“Speaking of rehearsals,” Matt says. “Can we do it after dinner tonight?”

“What? Why?”

“Valerie’s coming over for dinner. She wants to hang out before.”

I glare at him. “That’s so lame, dude.”

“I’m okay to do it tonight,” Sean says.

“That’s not the point.” I run my hand through my hair. “She’s trying to sabotage the band. You realize that, don’t you?”

“What?” Matt shakes his head. “No. It’s not like that. It’s just . . . she’s going through a hard time right now. Kelly barely even talks to her anymore. It’s like they were best friends one day, and the next, Kelly’s spending all her time with Prudence.”

“Well, they are in a band together, dawg. They’re probably rehearsing.”

“It’s all the time. In school and after school. And Val’s really upset about it, okay? Kelly’s one of her best friends. Look, it’s not like I’m canceling practice. I just want to move it.”

Well, that explains why she’s been hanging around us all the time. And clinging to Matt like a koala to a eucalyptus tree. Still, this could become a major ish down the road if I don’t play this right.

“Okay,” I say. “After dinner. But don’t you bail on us.”

“I won’t,” Matt says. “But she might be coming with me again.”

A surge of anger swells inside me. But I force myself to think about how bad it would suck to lose your best bud like that. And suddenly I feel kind of sorry for Val.

I take a breath. Let it out slowly. “Fine. Just . . . ask her to keep her yap shut, okay?”

We reach the second floor and head down the hall. It’s chock with the usual crowd of kids hurrying to get to next period, but there seem to be a few people lingering by our lockers.

Some douche bag approaches me, laughing. “You and Helen make a cute couple, Corn Dog.” He gives a few hip thrusts before taking off.

“Screw off,” I say, flipping him the finger.

We push through the small group of people laughing and pointing until we reach our lockers.

“Hey, it’s the man of the hour,” somebody calls out, causing a ripple of laughter to sweep through the hall.

And that’s when I see the photograph on my locker.

Someone has Photoshopped Helen’s and my ninth grade yearbook headshots onto an eight-by-ten picture of a couple on a beach in bathing suits, holding each other in a loving embrace. It’s pretty crudely done — and made even less effective by the fact that our heads are facing the camera instead of each other — but still, it gets the message across. One that fills my gut with acid.

“Assholes,” Sean says, ripping the picture off and throwing it on the ground.

There’s a disappointed groan, and the onlookers disperse.

“Aw, I think it’s kind of romantic.” I turn around to see Prudence laughing and picking the picture up off the floor. She’s flanked by Kelly on one side and Bronte and Gina on the other. “Personally, I’d recommend a biohazard suit the next time you’re going to hug the unwashed.”

The girls snicker. My ears get hot.

“Hey, Kell,” Matt says.

Kelly smiles, unwrapping a Tootsie Pop. The grape smell of it wafts over to me. She gestures at the photo with her lollipop. “That is just mean.”

“They sure were kind to Helen, though,” Bronte says. “I mean, where’s the cellulite? And the belly rolls?”

“And the herpes sores?” Gina giggles as she films the whole thing with her purple paisley Flip Video camera.

“This is getting really serious, Coop.” Prudence looks at me sympathetically. “We’d better talk.” She lets the picture float to the floor. “Come on. Walk with us.” She turns and starts down the hall, her friends following.

Um . . . okay, I’m confused. Have I read this whole situation completely wrong? Could this Helen mess actually be the thing that gets me up to bat with Prudence?

“What’s that all about?” Sean asks.

“I’m not sure,” I say. “But I’m going to find out. I’ll catch up with you later.”

I take off after the girls and reach them just before they turn the corner.

“It’s starting to reach epidemic proportions, Coop,” Prudence says as I walk in step with her. “Between all of Helen’s gossiping and what everyone’s starting to say about you and her hooking up. I felt bad for you before, but this. It’s the kind of thing that could ruin you for life.”

I glance at the other girls. They nod in agreement.

“I mean, yeah,” Prudence continues, “we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye you and me, but honestly,” she laughs shyly, “I always thought you were kind of cute. I’d hate to see this thing completely destroy you.”